The Black Death: How Different Were Christian and Muslim Responses? Dbq

In 1346 European traders began to hear reports about earthquakes, floods, locusts, famine, and plague in faraway China. They knew very little then that the plague they were hearing about would follow the same trade routes to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe that they themselves used. (doc. 1) In five short years, the plague killed between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered. (doc 2) So how different were the Christian and Muslim responses? In 1348 Christianity and Islam came face to face with the Black Death. (doc. 3A) In truth, Muslims and Christians responded in many different ways. Their ideas for what caused the Black Death were somewhat different from each other also. Even the way they thought they could cure the disease was almost entirely different. With evidence and accounts of people that exist from the Bubonic Plague, one may come to a conclusion that Christians were actually much more out of control than Muslims were during this time of need.

Responses that Christians made were much different from Muslims during the Bubonic Plague. William Dene described Christians as being in such chaos that “The labourers and skilled workmen were imbued with such a spirit of rebellion that neither king, law nor justice would curb them.” (doc. 6) What Dene is basically describing is that because of the Black Death Christians were in such moral disarray that they were starting to become completely out of control. Dene also stated in is writing that “The people for the greater part ever became more depraved, more prone to every vice and more inclined than before to evil and wickedness, not thinking of death nor of the past plague nor of their own salvation.” (doc. 6) Christians were throwing away their religion and were slipping into a life of wickedness and evil. Ibn Battuta describes in that “(As a result of the plague) the people fasted for three successive days… (Afterward they) assembeled in the Great mosque until it was filled to overflowing…...

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...to me? That is how the victims of the BlackDeath felt. In five short years, the plague killed between 25 and 45% of the populations it encountered. So howdifferentwere the Christian and Muslimresponses? In 1348 Christians who were followers of Jesus Christ and Muslims who followed the teachings of Muhammad came face to face with the BlackDeath. In truth, Muslims and Christians responded in many different ways. Even the way the blamed others for the cause of the plague and religious views about the disease were very much different. In a similar manner both religions acted completely out the norm, they basically set aside their spiritual beliefs for a moment.
One of the similar responses between the Muslims and Christianswere acting out of the ordinary. According to document five both religions were finding non-religious alternatives to prevent the BlackDeath. In some cases, the Christians would try to sleeping on their backs to prevent the plague, while the Muslims would even avoid going outside. In addition they both drank a solution of Armenian clay to cleanse the body and built...

...﻿Ashley Ahle
Professor Hunter
Freshman English II
29 May 2014
The BlackDeath
In Barbara Tuchman’s work titled “This is the End of the World: The BlackDeath”, she describes the devastating impact the bubonic plague had on mid-fourteenth century society, economy, and religion. The bubonic plague was a vicious fast spreading terminal disease for which there was no known prevention or cure. The author graphically describes the symptoms of the plague, the most characteristic being the foul odor, severe pain and necrotic swollen lymph nodes (1). Contracted either by contact or airborne transmission, once acquired the victim would die within a very short time period (1).
Tuchman depicts how the bubonic plague ravaged entire towns and countries all across Asia and Europe. Populations became so diminished that the living were unable to keep up with the remains of the victims. At one point Pope Clement VI of Avignon had reported that over 23 million people had perished from this disease (2). An accurate death toll could never possibly be calculated, however, it is said that “a third of the world died” (3).
Tuchman is able to accurately portray the profound psychological effects caused by the plague. This disease seemed to bring out the worst in human nature. Death became such a common occurrence that the disposal of human remains became careless. The disease...

...5th Period
Christian and MuslimDBQ
Throughout all of time the Christians and the Muslims have had views that sometimes run parallel and sometimes these views are perpendicular to each other, which make them collide and intersect. Both Christians and Islam are a monotheistic religion; they believe that there is one true god. In addition they also both believe in Jesus, however the Muslims do not view him as the son of God, but rather as the last prophet sent by Allah. Both religions read The Bible, however unlike with Christianity; The Bible is not the main book, or rule, that the Muslims follow. This pattern throughout history did not fade from 70 C.E. to 1500s C.E, where Christians and Muslims once again cross paths on their views towards merchants and trading; Christians have viewed merchants and trading as a non-favored, strongly disliked, and poorly looked upon practice or people, but it was semi-acceptable to some people if the trading was “fair,” even then merchants were consistently looked at with condescension; this is where the Muslims and Christians collide again, in the beginning Muslims respected the truthful merchants, however as time went on, the respect towards the merchants decreased and began to run parallel with the views of the...

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Reflective Essay 2
Muslim Mosque vs. Christian Basilica
There are many differences between the muslim and christian Basilica as well as many similarities. They also have so many things that make them unique in their own way. Taking a further look at each belief helps us have a clearer understanding of the Mosque and the Basilica.
The word Islam is Arabic and means "submission to the will of God." Islam teaches that one must submit to God in Arabic in order to achieve true peace of mind. Allah is God, the same God Christians and Jews worship.The word Muslim means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of race, nationality or ethnic background. Muhammad is believed to be the final prophet. Human beings are not believed to be sinful, but are seen as capable of both good and evil. Muslims believe God has given people free will. It is known “One's deeds and actions measure one's faith”. Islamic teachings encompass all aspects of life and ethics; consciousness of God is encouraged in all aspects of human affairs. Worship in Islam is not limited to religious rituals. Muslims believe the Qur'an has been perfectly preserved in both its words and meaning in a living language. God's final revelation to humankind was publicly recited in front of both Muslim and non-Muslim communities during the lifetime of the Prophet.The...

...Analissa Sanchez
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November 28, 2011
The BlackDeath was known as a very fatal disease that struck many locations and wiped out many countries and cities. The BlackDeath took the lives of almost 1/3 of the population. It all started by infection from fleas on rats, but the Christians and Muslims see it differently. Not only did the responses of the Christians and the Muslims differentiate by the way they responded to the plague, but also the non-religious causes. While the Christians thought of it as a punishment from the Holy God, the Muslims found it as a gift from God himself. On the other hand, the causes of the plague involved none of that, just the simple spreading by miasma, insanitation and of course the rat infestation.
The Christians believed that the plague was sent to them as a punishment from God. They assumed it was a way for them to pay for their sins and their wrong doing. According to the information given in Document 4, the plague was received to them from God as a punishment for their sins. So and so stated that, “… When the Lord is enraged, embrace acts of penance, so that you do not stray away from the right path and perish.” Also mentioned in Documents 7, 8, and 9 it is assumed that the Christians also had the Jews to blame for this raging...

...Sure the sight of a black bubble in a person’s skin could scare someone at least a little, or the terrible aches and pains brought about by a disease which no one in the region had heard about or had the slightest idea of a cure for could be a bit frightening. Just as it was during the 14th thru 16th centuries in Western Europe and just as it is today, death was and still is a big thing to fear. Thus, this epidemic that killed one third of Western Europe’s population got to be known as the BlackDeath, and people feared it. The population’s responses to the BlackDeath and its consequences were driven by fear due to religious superstition and a lack of knowledge about the epidemic itself.
Even the rich and noble feared the plague just as much as the peasants had feared it. No matter of what social class a person was, if the BlackDeath had hit them, it had hit them. If the person was of a wealthy or noble family, he or she would not have a greater chance of survival than any other peasant who was also infected by the disease. According to Nicolas Versoris, the rich fled, so that the few porters and wage earners were left (doc. 3). The concerns of the rich regarding the plague are best demonstrated by Giovan Filippo who declared that gold was for the expense to quarantine pest houses, gallows were for...

...DBQ Essay
From the late medieval era to the enlightenment a series of plagues devastated European society, economy, and social/political structure. In the Middle Ages, the Black Plague (or Death) was a pandemic that killed nearly 2/3 of the population in Europe, and lead to the downfall of the feudal system. The groups that benefited the most from the changes caused by the BlackDeathwere peasants and laborers reaction toward the calamity ranged from rational and proactive to irrational, egoistic, and even criminal. Over all, the human devastation revealed a growth over time in government role and the role of the educated class in serving society, while uncovering a persistent criticism of the upper classes and the common people.
The BlackDeath affected the society of early modern Europe by killing off an estimated 75 to 200 million people. People were dying quickly. “Almost none of the ill survived past the fourth day” (Doc 1). This evidence by Marchione supports that people knew they didn’t have much time until they died. There were many ways you can identify if someone had the disease. Many signs indicated if someone had it such as bubo in the groin, small swelling under the armpit, sudden fever, spitting blood, and saliva. It wasn’t just humans that died from the plague; in addition, animals died from the disease also. “Dogs,...

...Although Christian and Muslimresponses to The BlackDeathwere somewhat similar in some aspects, they were extremely different when comparing their thoughts on the cause of the disease, the behavior of people during this time, and their context.
According to a map of the Middle East and Europe, the BlackDeath didn’t have many routes through the Middle East, but quite a lot of routes are shown in Europe. Most of the routes in Europe spread over water, the Mediterranean Sea, but there were still routes on land. Judging by this, it’s easy to tell that the Black Plague affected more areas in Europe than in the Middle East because of all the different routes. In the Middle East, there was only 3 or 4 different routes for the plague to travel, all were and except for one in the red sea. It appears that the BlackDeath entered in through the Middle East through the Red Sea and Mecca. Mecca is a highly populated city, and this most likely led to many deaths. On a document about death counts in Europe, and the Middle East, they were very similar death rates; about 30%.The BlackDeath killed more people in Europe, simply because it had the highest...